Jessie J's Debut Album Finished; Nicki Minaj Collabo?

The budding Pop/R&B star from London that goes by the name Jessie J is on the verge of officially completing her album and rumors are buzzing that her debut LP may include a Nicki Minaj collaboration. The singer tweeted, "The album is DONE! Just to finish 1 song!! #STANDUP in the studio nooooowww!!! Arghhh!!!!"

Watch Jessie J's "Do It Like A Dude" below:

Critics Love Them Some Kanye!

Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy received rave reviews when released and now it appears the album has won the Pazz and Jop music critics' poll by a record margin. With a 33.1 percent margin of victory, 'Ye's album has easily taken the top spot for 2010 and as if that was not enough, he has dominated the top 10 songs of 2010 by occupying three spots with his music.

Simon Cowell Eying Rihanna for X-Factor Judging Panel

With Jennifer Lopez and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler accompanying Randy Jackson on the upcoming season of American Idol, Simon Cowell would love to add some serious star power to the American version of his UK-based show, The X-Factor. Who might that star power be?

Did J.Lo Jack Kat DeLuna's Song?

Monday saw the premiere of Jennifer Lopez's new song "On the Floor," a RedOne-produced, Pitbull-assisted dance track with pulsating synths and thumping drums. However, several are saying that the new J.Lo track may very well be a recycled and slightly modified song that Kat DeLuna released in European markets this past November.

Listen to the two tracks below:

NEW MUSIC: "Born This Way [REMIX]" by Lady Gaga

Although the audio is low and muffled, Lady Gaga's first single "Born This Way" has hit the internet in its remixed form that supplemented Nicola Formichetti's fashion show in Paris earlier today. This version is very trance-based with powerful synths and Gaga's signature vocals. Although it is difficult to make out the lyrics, the song has consistently been described as an inspirational anthem for today's youth.

Being it is a remix, I expect the original to sound substantially different from this. However, a high quality version of the song will be released tomorrow on Formichetti's Mugler.com and Stylelist.com as background music for a fashion short film. Listen and watch the video below:

MUSIC TANGENTS: Should the RIAA Change Album Certifications?

There was a time when albums were certified Diamond in the United States, which signifies the shipment (and usually sales) of 10 million albums domestically. However, the last album to achieve that was Usher's Confessions which was released in 2004. Since then, album sales have experienced quite the dramatic fall. And with sales reaching record lows, it appears that for the foreseeable future no album will earn that certification. Albums today are struggling to make Gold (500,000 shipments) and Platinum (1,000,000 shipments) certifications as well, distinctions once expected for even the relatively unknown artists. With album sales dying off, will the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) have to readjust the sales threshold for album certifications?

Britney Storms the Billboard Hot 100

Britney Spears has a lot to be happy about today, this after her new single "Hold It Against Me" becomes the 18th song in Billboard history to debut atop the Hot 100 and the first since Kesha's "We R Who We R" achieved that feat late last year. If that isn't enough, she earns the distinction of having the greatest debut sales week for a digital song by a female with 411,000 copies sold, besting Taylor Swift's "Today Was A Fairytale" which sold 325,000 copies its first week back in February 2010. 

Check out the other big debuts and the top ten on this week's Hot 100 below: